*Reunion*
Paato Fuochiiuan;
*Saikai*
Part Forty-one;
*Reunion*
Paato Fuochiiuan;
*Saikai*
Two women met face to face in the hangar. They stood in front of the cause of both their entrances and stared at each other.
" Treizesama... " the older woman said, faltering.
The younger set her lip firmly. " The computer in his office has a link to Uchuu. We have visual and audio, but His Excellency has closed the audio feed to Talgeese II, his suit. " She noted the conflict in the other's eyes. " Trust me, Lady, please. I know you don't know me, but I have to go. "
A slow nod. " Please bring him back safe. "
" I have every intention of doing so. " Brown eyes flashed with conviction. " Even if it means my own life, I will bring them both back safe. "
[##]
Zechs considered his options carefully. He'd given an ultimatum with every intention of following it through. Would he be swayed by circumstance?
" How much longer until firing capacity? "
Dorothy looked at him, clearly alarmed. Was he--?
" Ten minutes, sir, " came the answer.
" Launch the Mobile Dolls. Prepare to fire at my command. " He stood and began to head back to the Epyon.
Dorothy clutched at his arm. " Milliardosan! You can't be serious! Chikyuu ga-- Chikyuu ga--!! "
Zechs looked down at her coldly. " You wanted to see a war, Dorothy. This is war. I'm entrusting the Mobile Dolls to you. Don't disappoint me like Quinze. "
Dorothy's grip slipped, her body trembling. " Ha-hai... " As he left, she turned and noted the technicians staring at her. " What are you staring at? You heard him! Prepare to fire. Start the countdown at nine minutes. "
" Roukai! "
[##]
It was what they'd both been waiting for, yearning for. Since that first meeting, on the boat where they clashed with swords. Personal completion only through battle, it was what they had both come to know. Now, they fought the only way they had left to do honorably. Wufei with a trident, Treize with a sabre. It was a fight out of respect. As inevitable as their fate to be soldiers, this battle took place.
Treize grunted as one particular blow threw the controls back at him. " Ungh... You're everything... I thought you would be... Wufei... "
" Don't compliment me! " Wufei snapped back bitterly.
Treize smiled through the difficulty. " You said... " he lunged with the sabre, catching Wufei beneath the trident and getting in a blow that effectively returned to him the upperhand, " You said that wars were begot of warriors. Have you always been a warrior, Wufei? "
" No, " came the answer quietly, " but my life has caused so much destruction I might as well have been one without being aware. " He pulled the thrust back and changed tactics abruptly, slipping under Talgeese II's feet and raising the trident high above the other suit's back. " For justice!! For their memory I have to end this war and make sure the soldiers never start another one!! " The trident's thermal-blade pierced one of Treize's vernier boosters, cutting down on his maneuverability.
Treize switched to defensive tactics, activating the secondary boosters and reserving his other vernier for when he really needed it. Switching the sabre to the other hand, he dropped the damaged one to his side and crouched the suit, ready for the next attack.
Wufei spun the trident and aimed the dragon fang on his other arm. The arm extended slightly, preemptively. This would end everything. He could die... finally...
[##]
" Fire! " Quinze commanded, while Dorothy bit her thumbnail in the background.
[##]
Antiquity, perfection, isolated in the desert
Taiko, kanzen, sabaku
ni kodoku
" Faster... " she whispered, willing the machine to obey, " faster... "
Atmosphere, atoms, planet of causality
Kuuki, genshi, ingaritsu-boshi
The dragon fang attacked, shooting out from the Atlon on an extending arm, claws opened wide to tear the enemy to pieces. Talgeese II caught the dragon fang on the already wounded arm and fired the other vernier, careening at the Atlon with sabre extended before it.
Ah, a native child, conception
The embryo of philosophy
Sou, tochi no ko jutai
Tetsugaku no taiji
In that split second, Atlon raised its trident back to meet Talgeese II. This was fine. They'd both die in the exchange.
Neither noticed the blue glow encompassing the Libra.
And so!
Soshite!
Wing Gundam appeared suddenly between them, using one arm to push Talgeese II's sabre to the side and take Atlon's trident in the shoulder. One of the wings that gave the suit its name broke off and spun away, entering the atmosphere it had come from and disappearing in a lingering orange-red flash.
Lunar Heaven, Mercurial Heaven, Venusian Heaven
Solar Heaven, Martian Heaven
Tsuki-ten suisei-ten
kinsei-ten
Taiyou-ten kasei-ten
Before either Treize or Wufei could react, Wing moved again, using its free arm to violently knock Talgeese II away, and in the same motion using the trident embedded in its shoulder to throw Atlon in the same direction.
Jovian Heaven, Saturnian Heaven,
Sidereal Heaven, Motive Heaven
mokusei-ten dosei-ten
kousei-ten gendou-ten
In that instant, Libra fired a second time upon the Earth. Without the time to move itself, Wing Gundam was caught within the powerful blue beam that destroyed everything it touched.
Furthermore!
Saranaru!
" Nara!! " Treize called in alarm, already knowing who the pilot was.
Wufei froze. His eyes opened wide and a cold sweat caused him to shiver violently. Nara? His knuckles whitened as his grip on Atlon's controls tightened. " Nara...? "
Circular infinity without end
Enkan mugen ni hatenaki
The blue beam died away, fading slowly to nothingness and leaving only a shimmering blue haze in aftereffect on the broken remains of the once magnificent Gundam. The cries that Libra had missed Earth this time fell upon deaf ears.
A singular organic system
Hitotsu no yuukiteki
na kikan
Beyond the wreckage, a small figure in a deep purple and gray space suit floated prone among the debris.
Wufei barely heard Treize's whispered, " Masaka, " as he moved forward ahead of the other man.
A singular perpetual motion machine
Hitotsu no eikyuu undou
souchi
Atlon's hands cupped below the figure just as it stirred.
Nara looked up at Atlon as she stood on the Gundam's palm. Standing weakly, she marveled more at the silence than at the fact that she'd been able to throw herself out of the cockpit in time. No time to move the suit, but with just enough force, she'd saved herself and kept her promise.
Dryly, the comlink in her helmet conveyed the words, " I don't seem to recall hailing you. "
" I don't recall ever specifically saying I would wait for you to, " she chortled, relief in her voice returning the unspoken message. She looked back at Atlon and said tentatively, " Wufei? "
Ah, it is an empty movement
Aa kuudou nari
" Aho... " was the first word that finally came from the other pilot.
Nara bristled. Even after all this time he still...? He still didn't learn?! Before she could begin shouting her indignation, the cockpit opened and the black-suited pilot of Atlon emerged into the calm stillness of space.
That is an empty movement
So wa, kuudou nari
" Aho, " he repeated, leaping down to face her. Even through the dark visors she could read the real meaning behind his words and gruff tone, " I thought you were dead, onna. "
" Dying is too easy, " she responded. She turned her head to look distantly at the stars. Wufei watched the reflections on her visor. " Without soldiers to find peace, it only leaves room for new ones to be born. "
It is...
Nari...
**
[Yousha!! Wai!! ~happy dance~ I find that ending to be a little weak, personally, but... wai!! Nara and Wufei reunite! But wait a minute... Libra missed?! How the hell did that happen? Find out what happened next chapter!]
[Written by Inseiko, 2001]
[Lyrics: "Virtual
Star Hasseigaku" from Shoujo Kakumei Utena. 2nd ED
Lyrics taken from two sources: romanji: AnimeLyrics.com
translation: taken directly from fansub]